this is the night
by finndimples
Summary: "I'm Rachel." Finn looked into her eyes, his own wide. "And I think—I think you're very handsome, Finn." AU one-shot twist on Lady & the Tramp. Rated M for some vulgar languages and sexual inferences


**Hi everybody! I had a little bit of a creativity spree when I watched Lady & the Tramp the other night. This Finchel AU is loosely based on Lady & the Tramp, which belongs to Disney**

**Disclaimer: Glee belongs to its creators**

**I live for reviews!**

_Oh, this is the night_

He woke up, startled by the gunshots he heard outside, to his mom's loud footsteps, rushing down the hallway into his room to check up on him. He squeezed his eyes shut, sensing the light from the hallway behind his eyelids when his mom cracked open his bedroom door and breathed a gentle sigh of relief when she saw that they were safe, walking slowly back to her room.

"Kurt, you good man?"

He listened to Kurt's muffled cries from the other end of the room they shared, staying silent until he heard soft sniffles. "Yes Finn, I'm fine. Go back to sleep." He glanced over at his alarm clock.

3 AM

He pulled his plaid blanket tightly around his large frame and squeezing his eyes shut, willing morning to come quickly because he rather be at school than in his Lima Heights Adjacent. He fucking hated it here.

He left the house around 6 because he hated being there. He went alone, because Kurt had to do his cleansing ritual and makeup or whatever he did that took him, like, two hours in front of the bathroom mirror. Quickly jumping into his beat up, old pick up truck he drove slowly down Lima Lane passing Bernie's, Francois… Tony's! Perfect. He hadn't been there in a week.

He jumped out of his rusty truck, smiling softly as he listened to the old Italian man's loud and distinct voice through the thick cement walls. He peered into the window of the kitchen and when he caught Tony's eyes, he almost let out a girly scream because _shit,_ he was loud.

"Buongiorno, Finn!"

"Hi, Tony," he muttered, giving him a gentle smile and then looking at the ground, ashamed that he had to come here in the first place. But Tony was cool, like, even though he didn't speak English perfectly he knew that Finn didn't need his sympathy or anything. He just needed… food.

He handed him over a paper plate filled with an assortment of food from bread rolls to eggs to hashed browns. Finn looked up at Tony, his eyes flooding with grateful tears before he whispered his sincere thank you and headed off to William McKinley High.

_it's a beautiful night _

He'll never forget the first time he saw her. She sat alone, in the front of his first period Spanish class, clutching her notebook to her chest, her cheeks flushed a soft pink. Finn was sure he stopped breathing, he was just sure of it. She glanced up at him, her huge, chocolate colored eyes filled with curiosity. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, her plump pink lips, her soft looking skin, her— why was she looking at him like that?

Right. Because he froze in the middle of the doorway.

He felt heat rush up to his cheeks and ducked his head, avoiding her gaze, which followed him across the room as he tried to quietly take a seat, pulling on his too small, roughed up plaid shirt, self conscious when he felt her piercing gaze still on him. Could she see the small holes his mom had tried sewing closed on his shirt? He glanced up at her, running a hand through his messy hair and gave her a shy smile, the side of his mouth quirking up.

She beamed at him and he thought about how he had never seen anything so bright or so beautiful. And his heart sunk, along with his eyes as they landed on the paper in front of him, because anything that beautiful or bright was too good for him anyways.

He missed the way her smile fell when he looked away.

_and they call it bella notte_

He should have known she was too good to be true when he saw her sitting with Quinn Fabray, surrounded by a bunch of adoring Cheerios and football players.

"Finn!"

His ears perked up and he turned towards Puck, giving him a lopsided smile when Puck waved him over to his table where he was sitting with Quinn and—shit.

He trudged over to their table, taking a seat beside Puck who was chatting with Quinn and that beautiful girl and—

"What is he doing here?"

His cheeks burned under Quinn's cold stare and judgmental tone. How the fuck had he ever dated her? "Yo, lay off Q, Finn is one of us."

Looking at her face, it was like someone had told Quinn that the grass was purple and sky green. He turned to the girl, the one with the big brown eyes, who was staring at him, her eyes filled only with curiosity unlike Quinn's, filled with so much hatred.

"He's not one of us Puck! God, look at his shirt! It has holes, Puck! Holes! And his hair—Finn, do you own shampoo? And, oh my god, your jeans…"

He had never been more humiliated. He was never one who felt confident in his oversized body, but the way Quinn was speaking to him as if he was some sort of freak…

"Hey, Finn?" A soft voice whispered. He looked up, a frown embedded in his features and his fists clenching while he tried to block out Quinn's terrible words and instead focus on the soft voice that called his name.

It fell from the rosy pink lips of the beautiful girl and his cheeks burned even hotter because_, oh God,_ she had been sitting there, listening to Quinn talk about him like he was garbage.

"I'm Rachel." Finn looked into her eyes, his own wide. "And I think—I think you're very handsome, Finn."

His heart felt like it was going 500 miles an hour, because… because nobody had ever called him handsome. Aside from his mom but she was his mom, she had to say that. When he dated Quinn last year, she called him hot once, but that was in front of the football team and he was in uniform. But here was this, like, gorgeous angel in front of him and she was calling him handsome.

He didn't know why he did it, or how he got the guts to, but he leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on her warm cheek before he turned to Quinn quickly, who was staring at him in disgust, and sprinted out of the cafeteria.

_Look at the skies _

He hadn't wanted to cause such a rift and he wished he could just disappear or something when he saw his angel—Rachel—sitting on the wrong side of the tracks, in his neighborhood. A bunch of thugs from around town were surrounding her, taunting her. Obviously you could tell she was from the other side of town, with her cream-colored sundress, sprinkled with bright red cherries. He rushed over to her curled up, crying figure and scooped up her light body as if they had known each other for ages before he sent a threatening look, the most intimidating look he could conjure up, to the guys around them before he walked off with her in his arms, cooing to her gently.

"It'll be okay. You're okay. I'm here now."

_they have stars in their eyes_

"But then she told me I had that if I thought you were anything close to being handsome then I obviously wasn't one of them either and I just moved into Lima and Quinn's my only friend and nobody seems to like me and—" Rachel broke down into sobs again, while they sat on Finn's couch, him gently stroking her hair.

"That sounds just like Quinn. That's what comes when you get caught up in her perfect little world."

She let go of his hand and—when had their fingers become intertwined? "How do you know?"

Finn sighed, putting his hand up to hers and marveling at the size difference before lacing their fingers together once again.

It reminded him of coming home.

"Hey, Rach?"

"Yes?"

"Wanna go, like, have dinner or something? It's getting pretty late and I would think you're hungry and stuff and I would like if you would like to have dinner with, uh, me—but only if you want to, I mean, I don't want to pressure you or anything it's just—"

"Finn?" He felt his face heat up. "Yeah?"

"Are you asking me on a date?"

He felt like his smile hadn't been this big in years. "Yeah, I am," he breathed.

"I'd like that."

He was wrong. His smile could get bigger.

_on this lovely bella notte_

"You see Rach, when you're not tied down to any group that depends on how rich you are or something stupid like that, you're… free. And I'm going to treat you to the best!" Finn turned to her, looking into her eyes to see if she was skeptical or nervous but all he saw was—affection? Curiosity? He felt warm all over and smiled, taking Rachel's hand and trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

"Hey Tony's! Of course! The very place for a very special occasion," Finn exclaimed before Rachel grinned at him and began walking towards the entrance. Panicked, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, not expecting for her face to be so close to his, their chests pressed together, and he could feel her warm breathe tickling his chin. "Not that way, Rach. I have my own private entrance. Wait here."

He walked to the side of the building, Rachel in tow, before he gently let go of her hand and gave her a reassuring smile before he peered into the kitchen and knocked lightly on the window, Tony's eyes meeting his in an instant.

"Oh, hello Finn! Hey, Joe, look who's here!"

Joe, another chef at Tony's, came running over, a bowl of spaghetti in hand. "Well, what do ya know! It's Finn-a!"

Finn grinned at them, not saying a word. "Hey, hey, hey, Joe! Joe, brings some food for Finn before he eat me!" Finn laughed out loud, knowing Tony wasn't really taunting him. He peered back at Rachel, who was behind some boxes in the alley, looking nervous. He stepped back, gave her a lopsided smile and felt his heart fill with affection when she smiled back at him. Finn pulled her to him gently, squeezing her hand.

"Huh? Huh? Oh! What's this? Hey, Joe! Look-a Finn! He's got a new girlfriend!"

Rachel blushed under their gazes and—she wasn't his girlfriend was she? I mean, he had just met her but every time she looked at him, it was like his stomach erupted into butterflies and his felt dizzy and— he bent down to kiss her cheek softly.

"Hey, she's pretty," Tony interrupted quietly, witnessing their tender moment. You take a Tony's advice and settle down with this-a one, eh?"

He sat Rachel down at the small outdoor table, lit with a single candle while she peered up at him. "This-a one?" Rachel muttered, her voice laced with genuine wonder and… jealousy?

"This-a one?" Finn questioned, thinking about the other 'ones' Tony may have seen him around town with. He almost scoffed. He had known this girl for mere hours and she was already so much more to him than they ever were. "Oh! Tony, you know—he's not a speak-a English pretty good," Finn joked, trying to ease to the tension.

He knew he had succeeded when a musical giggle slipped out of her mouth.

He watched her in awe, wondering how somebody can be so perfectly beautiful while Tony fixed the table and Joe brought out a plate of—was that bread?

"Here's your bread, Tony!"

"Okay, bread!" He watched Tony's face turn beet red and was almost scared of the old man for a second. He can tell Rachel was too, her hand instantly on his knee. "Bread?! What's the matter with-a you, Joe? I break-a your face. Tonight, Finn, he's a get a-best in a-house!"

Rachel laughed loudly, watching Joe scramble to pick the bread up off their table. "Okay, Tony! You the boss!"

"Now, tell what's your pleasure? A la carte? Dinner?"

Finn smiled shyly at him, not answering because, hell, he'd never actually eaten anything from their menu, he ate whatever the made him and that was always enough for him. As if Tony could read him mind, he jumped up. "Aha! Hey Joe! Finn-a, he wants a two spaghetti special! Heavy on a meats-a-ball-a!"

Finn was almost sure Joe had the food already prepared, that's how fast he had it on their table, and the way Rachel eyed the pasta, he could tell she was starving. He began digging into the massive bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, staring at Rachel as she did the same, but instead her twinkling eyes were on the show in front of them, watching Tony sing.

And that's how it went for awhile, Tony's voice filling the air until him and Rachel grabbed the same piece of spaghetti, not realizing it until their mouths were pressed together. She blinked, turning away shyly with a small smile on her face and he just watched her, not wanting anything else other than to feel her lips on his again.

_side by side with your loved one_

He was terrified to bring her into the Lima Heights Adjacent Park but he was trying to be romantic and he knew that he would protect her with everything that he was. Nobody would lay a hand on her – ever – if she just stayed close to him.

He guessed she was pretty scared too or something, the way she tucked her body into his chest as they walked, her hand holding his in the weirdest way, yet it had never felt more perfect, more _right. _He listened to her babble away about Funny Girl, which was apparently her favorite musical or whatever and—wait? Funny Girl? Why did that ring a bell?

"Hey! I know that musical! My brother Kurt has like, a shrine to Broadway in his room and he's made me watch so many musicals. That's the one with the love story and the dude in prison and they don't even get their happy ending, which is stupid by the way… it's that one right?" He looked down at her and was met with those huge brown eyes just shining with affection and—

"Finn?" Rachel breathed.

"Yeah?"

"Can I kiss you?"

He thought his heart stopped. He didn't even notice they had stopped walking till now, and they were just facing each other, her hands squeezing his and he felt like he seriously couldn't breathe. He didn't deserve this.

"You would… you would want to kiss _me_? Rach, look at all this. Look at me. Even though I'm on the football team, people still treat me like an outsider. Look where I live! My version of romantic was taking you to a dinner where we had to sit outside for god—"

Her lips were on his.

Oh my fucking god, his lips were on his. Kissing him. Rachel Berry was kissing him, Finn Hudson. And he didn't think he ever wanted to stop.

But apparently you have to stop sometime because it was a first kiss and like, your lungs need oxygen or whatever. But the happiest moment of his life wasn't over because when Finn looked over at her, into her eyes, they were literally twinkling with happiness and affection for him and her lips were swollen and her hair was mussed up and he had never seen anything so perfect.

"I really wanted to kiss you, Finn."

Could she be anymore perfect?

"Rachel... can I kiss you again?" He watched her jaw drop slightly and her cheeks flush.

"If you want to."

"I want to," Finn breathed.

And then soft lips were pressed against chapped ones, gentle hands were running over his scruffy cheeks and his own rough hands were tangling in her luscious hair. He never wanted this night to end.

_you'll find enchantment here_

He woke up to Rachel running her fingers ever so softly over his face, tracing his freckles; her dark hair billowed out against his white pillows. She was singing quietly, watching him sleep and he knew that maybe he should have thought it was creepy or something but the only thought he could string together was that he wanted to wake up like this, beside her, every day for the rest of his life.

"I have to be getting home, Finn."

His heart dropped in his chest and his stomach rose because, what? Didn't she want him like he wanted her? Why would she want to leave? Or had she just wanted to kiss him and hold his hand and sleep in his bed? His fears were silenced when her lips pressed against his.

"My parents are probably freaking out, I should have been home hours ago. And Quinn—" Reality hit him pretty hard when she brought up that name.

"Rachel, are you kidding? Come on, she doesn't care. Open up your eyes." He kind of braced himself for her to slap him in the face or something because he hadn't meant for it to sound so mean but he was just bitter and he cared more about her than Quinn ever would.

But she only blinked. "Open my eyes?"

"Yeah, Rach," Finn breathed, sighing in relief. "Open your eyes to how amazing you are, without them. You don't need Quinn or any of them to be special.

"I know, Finn, I know." Rachel resumed running her fingers through his hair and his eyes closed at the feeling.

"But I can take you home, to your parents. They're probably so worried about you. I would be."

He heard a whispered 'thank you' before she concentrated on tracing the shape of his lips with her finger.

_the night will weave its magic spell_

They walked down the street, close to her neighborhood, her hand wrapped tightly around a few of his fingers and she told him about her two dads and how her mom had left her. He told her about his mom, and Kurt and Burt and how his dad had died in the war and how he would always love him, but they were his family now.

They talked about ex boyfriends – hers was some douche named Jesse St. James and he didn't know him, because apparently he lived in Carmel or whatever but he didn't want to know him because if he saw him he would beat the shit out of him for the shit he pulled on Rachel. He would go all Braveheart on his ass!

He was gonna start telling her about the girlfriends he's had when a few guys from the McKinley appeared out of thin air, or maybe they just stepped out from behind that wall but whatever it was, they scared the shit of him and Rachel. He pulled her behind him, his hand on the small of her back, pressing her body as close to him as possible, and he felt her hands grip the back of his shirt, when Dave, Rick and Azimio stepped closer.

"Hey, hey you guys, it's Huddy! Yo Hudson, who do ya got there?" He pressed his hand flat against Rachel's back and felt her hand clumsily looking for his. He grasped her palm in his and she intertwined their fingers tightly.

"Leave us alone guys," Finn growled at them only to be met by roaring laughter.

"Man Hudson, you're a softie now. You've always had a weakness for the ladies." Finn's stomach clenched and he felt Rachel's grip on his flannel shirt loosen.

The assholes only continued taunting him. "Who is it behind there, Finny D? Brittany? It can't be Quinn, because she dumped your sorry ass… wait, I know! It's Santana, isn't it? You sly dog, Finn! We both know how good San puts out…"

He felt Rachel's grip go slack as her fingers pulled out of his, even as he desperately tried to cling onto her, and she stepped out from behind him.

"Berry? You got little Berry to put out for you? I didn't know you had it in you Hudson!" He watched as Rachel wiped tears away from her eyes, unable to stop the vicious flow of tears down her cheeks and he had never been great with words and being under pressure and he just couldn't stop her when he watched her take off, running down the street, as far away from him as she could get.

_when the one you love is near_

They beat the shit out of him. He couldn't feel his damn body and it's not like he had done anything to provoke them, they just beat the living fuck out of him. But even with his bruised, bloodied and sore body he knew he had to find her.

He washed up in a gas station restroom where he picked up two packs of Sour Patch Kids with the few dollars he had, one for him, one for Rachel – he was so excited when she had mentioned that she loved the candy because it was his favorite too – and started his trek to her house, except where the hell did she live? Shit, wait, didn't she mention that Quinn was her neighbor? He had been to Quinn's house when they were dating; she must live near there! He almost broke into a sprint to get to her house until his knees gave out on him, as he howled in pain on the floor. With struggle, he arrived at Rachel's house.

It wasn't too hard to figure out which one it was, because she was sitting on the porch in cat pajamas, crying. "Oh, Rachel," he murmured softly, walking up to her stairs. Her head snapped up and her eyes met his, filled with tears. "Leave me alone, Finn! I never want to see you again!" Her words shattered his heart but he kept coming closer to her; the next thing he knew, he was kneeling in front of her body that was wracking with sobs. "It's okay, baby," Finn cooed softly. She looked up at him and gasped when she saw his swollen cheek, bruised eye and cut lips. His face pressed into her hand when she cupped his cheek, wanting to get closer to the warmth her body radiated. It was like she realized what she was doing when he eyes starting closing softly.

Her hand slipped away from his cheek.

"Who eyes have you called baby, Finn? I know you and Quinn dated but Brittany? And how about Santana? How much fun did you have with her Finn?" He flinched at her tone, ashamed of himself and how he was in the past. "I don't need you to shelter and protect me, Finn."

"Yes, yes I know that, Rach, of course you don't, but—but.."

"If you grow careless, don't blame me," Rachel yelled at him, eyeing the Sour Patch Kids that had fallen out of his shirt pocket. "I don't care about you Finn Hudson! Goodbye! And take this with you," Rachel yelled, throwing the pack of candy at him and sobbing as she ran inside, away from his defeated figure on her front porch.

He'd lost her before he'd even gotten her.

_oh this is the night, and the heavens are right_

Before he starting walking away he heard a scream and the sound of a slap echoing and he hurried as fast as he could to Rachel's backyard, because no matter what she had said about him mere seconds ago, he wasn't giving up on her.

He watched with wide eyes as Rachel held her red cheek in pain and Quinn stood in front of her, screaming.

"You little bitch! You think you could sneak off with my disgusting ex boyfriend? Are you a boyfriend stealer, Rachel? Hm? You tramp!"

Finn threw his body in front of Rachel's, just in time for Quinn's next vicious slap, which landed on his already bleeding chest. He hissed in pain before opening his eyes to see a shocked Quinn in front of him.

"Don't ever speak like that to Rachel again, Quinn! I don't care if you think I'm some worthless piece of shit, you will never speak that way to Rachel again like she's worthless. She is more special than you will ever be, Quinn! She is so absolutely perfect, if you touch her again, you will regret it, Quinn."

Quinn huffed, not at all afraid of Finn but completely dejected. She knew she had lost her fight. "Have fun with your loser boyfriend, Hobbit," Quinn yelled, venom in her eyes before she scampered off.

Finn turned to face Rachel, who was looking up at him with wide eyes before she collapsed against him, crying, while he looked down at her in shock.

"Look, Rachel, I know you hate me and I'll never bother you again, I swear I won't even come near you if you don't want me to, but I couldn't stand to have to yell and you and oh God, she hit you, oh God Rach, are you okay?" He peppered her faces with kisses, looking for any other injuries on her face before she clasped her hands around his cheek and looked into his warm amber eyes.

"Finn, I'm okay."

He stopped and stared back into her intense gaze. "Finn," Rachel whispered. "You're my hero."

His heart dropped into his feet when she went to kiss him, with so much passion and love and he kissed her back, trying to express everything he felt about her in one kiss.

She leaned against his chest, her lips swollen, cheeks flushed, and he knew they would be okay - the rich girl and the poor boy - they would be okay. Because they were meant to be, and they would make it work out, even with the bullies and the taunting and—

Her soft lips pressed against his again.

_on this lovely bella notte_

let me know what you thought xx

love, laura


End file.
